Temperature controlled fuel gas throughflow valve

ABSTRACT

A hair curling unit, for example a curling iron, which has a catalytically acting heating device, wherein a regulator device is situated between the gas supply chamber which contains the fuel gas and the winding body. The movable valve element (13) of said regulation device is guided in an integrally designed regulator frame (40). Here, the regulator frame also comprises the valve seat (33), the bearing pin (34) for the regulating lever (16), and the spring collet (41) for the bimetallic temperature measuring element. The regulator device, as an independent component, is solidly connected with the handle part which encloses the gas supply chamber. Thus, the material changes which occur during operation--for example the swelling of plastic parts--do not cause any change of the distance between the headpiece of the regulator rod and the valve seat (33).

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 509,466,filed June 6, 1983 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention concerns a temperature-controlled fuel gasthroughflow valve for a catalytic heating device.

2. Description of the Prior Art

With a known hair curler (German Offenleggungschrift No. 20 40 003), thefuel conveyance device is a nozzle situated between the fuel containerand the combustion chamber. A stream or flow of gaseous fuel isconducted through this nozzle into the combustion chamber. By means ofsuch an arrangement of the nozzle and of the fuel container, theconveyance quantity of fuel and of oxygen into the combustion chamber issupposed to be controlled in an extremely uniform and precisely dosedfashion.

A catalytic heating device is also known (U.S. Pat. No. 2,997,869), inwhich the methanol vapor and the air are conducted to a catalyst. Here,the fuel gas flows through a tubular body, at one of whose ends a rod isdisposed coaxially with respect to the tubular body, which contains thecatalyst. In this way, the rod-shaped body heats up when the catalyticcombustion has started.

Finally, a hair curling unit is known (European Patent Application No. 0021 224), in which a valve device is situated in the housing between thecylindrical rod body and the guide handle. This valve device regulatesthe outflow of the fuel gas from the fuel gas tank, which is housed inthe handle section, to the catalyst, which is situated in the rod body.This regulation here takes place in dependence on a bimetallic elementand furthermore in dependence on a positioning member which can beactivated manually. This known hair curling unit, according to the typeof a curling iron, has the disadvantage that the accuracy of theregulation depends significantly on the quality of the material used forthe handle section because, on the one hand, the associated valve deviceis situated in the handle section and, on the other hand, the bimetallicelement is connected with the cylindrical rod body. Experience has shownthat the handle section and the rod body shrink or elongate under theinfluence of temperature and/or humidity. As a consequence, thetemperature is not maintained precisely, which can cause damage to thehair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is based on the aim of creating a valve device fora heating apparatus, which permits regulation of the fuel gasthroughflow within narrow limits, and where the properties of thematerials utilized do not affect the regulation behavior. The valvedevice should be designed so that it can be installed as an independentcomponent or subassembly both into hair care units as well as into otherunits for personal needs or for the household, for example pocket ovens,flat irons, or hotplates.

According to the invention, this is achieved by a regulator elementsituated in a regulator frame. A bimetallic temperature measurementelement acts on the regulator element. Said measuring element isdirectly hinged to the valve member of the valve device, where thisvalve member is movable and controls the fuel supply from the fuel tankto the combustion chamber. Here, the regulator frame contains the valveelement, the mount for the bimetallic temperature measuring element, andthe mount for the regulator element. The regulator frame is designedintegrally.

U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,374,528; 4,354,482; and 4,382,448 are incorporatedherein by reference for purposes of indicating the background of theinvention and illustrating the state of the art.

The invention will not be described by way of a particular preferredembodiment (a catalytic hair curling iron), reference being made to theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a curling iron in a side view and in partial section.

FIG. 2 shows the curling iron according to FIG. 1, in a view that hasbeen rotated by 90°, likewise partially in section.

FIG. 3 shows the regulation device of the curling iron according toFIGS. 1 and 2 in an enlarged representation in longitudinal section (butwithout the bimetallic temperature measuring element).

FIG. 4 shows the regulation device according to FIG. 3 in a frontalview.

FIG. 5 shows the complete regulation device according to FIG. 3,partially in longitudinal section (with bimetallic temperature measuringelement inserted).

FIG. 6 shows the handle section of the curling iron according to FIGS. 1and 2, with the regulation device inserted, in an enlargedrepresentation, partially in longitudinal section.

FIG. 7 shows a frontal view of the handle part according to FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT STRUCTURE

The curling iron comprises: the tube 1; the handle part 2 which isconnected with tube 1 and which is filled with fuel gas 3; the plug 4,together with its filling valve 5, rearwardly closing the handle part 2;the sleeve 6 which forwardly closes the tube 1; the ignition devicewhich is held by the sleeve 6 and which in its totality is designated byZ; the burner which is held in the tube 1 by the spring windings 7, 8,and which is designated in its totality by B; the combustion chamber,designated by V; the flange 9 which is situated between the tube 1 andthe handle part 2, on which the hair clamp 10 with its operating key 11is tiltably mounted on the pin 12; and finally the valve element 13 withthe regulation device consisting of parts 14, 15, 16, 17, 35, 39, 55,and 40, and which in its totality is designated by R.

The ignition device Z may be of any suitable design such as, forexample, that which is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,374,528, asubstantially similar ignition device being employed in the presentpreferred embodiment.

The ignition device Z comprises: the rotatable piece 18, which is movedby the activation knob 31, together with the run-up ramp 19; the holdingframe 20; the tubule 21 with a spring and a flint 23, the friction wheel26 with frontal teeth, mounted in the holding frame 20 on the pin 25; aratchet lever with a tooth and the longitudinally movable tappet 29,mounted in the holding frame 20, with a return spring 30.

The regulation device R comprises: the valve element 13, which islongitudinally movable with respect to the valve seat 33; the regulationelement or regulation lever 16, which is tiltably mounted on the pin 34;the switching lever 55; the regulator spring 17; the regulator rod 15with the regulator tube 14; the damping spring 39; and the regulator arm40 with the spring collet 41.

The burner B comprises: the burner tube 42; the two spring windings witha large diameter 7, 8; the catalyst 43, which is retained between aninner spring 44 and an outer spring 45; and the forward, conically woundpart 46.

The flange 9 is used, on the one hand, to hold the tube 1 and, on theother hand, to hold the regulator device R. The handle part 2 holds thehair clamping device 10, 11, 12, whereby the flange 9 itself is solidlydisposed at the handle part 2. L designates an air channel, throughwhich fresh air can flow into the chamber V.

OPERATION

The curling irong according to the invention operates as follows:

After the positioning element 35 has been pivoted into the open position(arrow direction A), the fuel gas flows from the handle 2 through thevalve 13, 33, 51, 52, 53, 54 into the burner tube 42, through theconically wound part 46, through the spring 44, into the chamber betweenthe igniter Z and the burner B.

To ignite the fuel gas, the ring 31 is now turned. When the ring 31turns, it carries along the rotary piece 18 and sets this part 18 intorotational motion. The tappet 29, which abuts the run-up ramp 19 of therotary piece 18 is put into axial motion, since, due to the force of thereturn spring 30, its end continuously follows the motion of the run-upramp 19. For this purpose, the tappet 29 is held and guided in the areaof the friction wheel 26. With its forward end, it grips the holdingframe 20 through an opening in the forward U-shaped part of holdingframe 20. The tubule 21, which contains the flint 23, is guided by thebent tab of the frame 20 and is forwardly mounted in a hole in theholding frame 20. Through the axial motion of the tappet 29, the ratchetlever 28, which is rotatably mounted on the pin 25, is pivoted from thebent end of the tappet 29. The tooth of the ratchet lever 28 hereengages the ratchet frontal teeth of the friction wheel 26 and turnsthis wheel apiece on the pin 25. The flint 23 in the tubule 21 ispretensioned by a spring. It now rubs against the rotating frictionwheel 26, so that sparks are struck. This causes the gas mixture in thecombustion chamber V between the igniter Z and the burner B to ignite.

After the gas mixture in the chamber between the igniter Z and theburner B has been ignited by activation of the igniter Z, catalyticcombustion of the gas is initiated. For this purpose, the fuel gascontinues to flow steadily, regulated through the valve 13, 33, 51, 52,53, 54.

The valve element 13 is moved with respect to the valve seat 33 by theregulator lever 16. For this purpose, the lever 16 is tiltably mountedon the pin 34. The damping spring 39 acts on the regulator lever 16. Theregulator spring 17 contacts the switching lever 55, which is rotatablymounted at the regulator frame 40 on the pin 34. When the positioningelement 35 is pivoted, the switching lever 55 is pivoted, since the freeend of the switching lever 55 engages a slot in the position element 35.

The regulator lever 16 is furthermore acted upon by a bimetallic device,which consists of a regulator tube 14 with a movable regulator rod 15situated therein. Here, the tube 14 and the rod 15 are rigidly connectedtogether at their forward ends at F. On the other hand, the handle-sidedend of the tube 14 is solidly affixed to the regulator frame 40 by meansof a spring collet 41, and the handle-sided end of the regulator rod 15acts on the regulator lever 16 through the headpiece 46.

When the curling iron heats up, the valve 13, 33 is closed; by contrast,when the curling iron cools, said valve is open. The flow of fuel gasbetween 33 and 59, in the maximum valve opening position, is limited bya small, precise hole 57 in the part 40 or respectively the filter 52and the nozzle 53, so that, in every case, only a limited amount of fuelgas can emerge.

The burner tube 14, which is situated in parallel with the catalyst 43in tube 1, actively reacts under the influence of temperature, i.e. itstrongly expands, while the regulator rod 15 expands comparativelylittle. The length difference yields the regulation path, or the path bywhich one end of the regulator lever 16 is moved by the regulator rod15. The motion of the valve element 13 with respect to the stationaryvalve seat 33 can be influenced not only by the regulator rod 15 butalso by the position of the positioning element 35. If the positioningelement 35 is moved to the position ON (arrow direction A), the slot inthe position element 35 moves towards the front, i.e. the regulatorlever becomes freely movable, and the damping spring 39 is relieved. Ifthe positioning element 35 is moved into the OFF position, the spring 17is relieved and the damping spring 39 is pretensioned so far that thevalve 13, 33 is closed gas-tight.

The valve seat 33, the pin 34, and the spring collet 41 are disposed atthe regulator frame 40, which is integrally made of a high-gradematerial. The purpose of this is to prevent that, at operatingtemperature, under the influence of e.g. moisture, an unallowable playoccurs at "S" (see FIG. 5) between the regulator lever 16 and theheadpiece 56, i.e. the play which is necessary at this point changesfrom S=0.17 to 0.2 mm at 140° C. (the play S guarantees that the maximumoperating temperature is not exceeded). The play S can be preciselyadjusted by turning the headpiece 56, which is designed as a screw nut,on the regulator rod 15 until the required 0.17 to 0.2 mm have been set.

The regulation device R, shown in FIG. 5, comprises both the bimetallicelement 14, 15, 56 and the regulator levers 16, 55 together with theregulator spring 17 and the valve device 33, 51, 52, 53, 54, 57 with theregulator frame 40. It is designed as a single solid subassembly and isinserted into the curling iron according to the type of a measuringunit. This mode of construction on the one hand makes possible separateassembly, equalization, and testing of this subassembly and, on theother hand, tolerances which occur mainly in connection with temperaturechanges at the housing parts, do not affect the regulation of the gasflow.

As FIG. 6 shows, the regulator frame 40 is solidly screwed together withthe handle part 2, which is made of plastic, and which contains the gassupply chamber 22. The handle part 2 furthermore contains foam disks 24,the wick 27, and a filter stone 31, through which the fuel gas can flowinto the hole 54 (FIG. 3). In the event that the length of thecup-shaped end 32 of the handle part 2 should change (e.g. due to hightemperature), the play S between the headpiece 56 and the regulatorlever 16 is not influenced thereby; actually, only the total length ofthe device is influenced.

The tube 1 and the handle part 2 are connected together through theflange 9. On the one hand, the flange 9 is screwed together with thefront surface 57 of the handle part 2 or of its cup-shaped end 32 and,on the other hand, it is wedged with the tube 1. The blind holes in thehandle part 2 are designated by 58, 59, 60, into which are screwed thescrews (not shown in more detail) by means of which the regulator frame40 is fastened at the front surface of the handle part 2.

I claim:
 1. In a gas powered heating device having a fuel supply chamberand a combustion chamber, an improved thermostatic gas flow controlvalve, comprising:a regulator frame disposed between said fuel supplychamber and said combustion chamber and being integrally constructed ofa high quality material which will not alter its shape under theinfluences of temperature and mechanical forces encountered during theoperation of the gas powered heating device; a fuel supply channelprovided in said regulator frame; a movable valve member disposed withinsaid channel for controlling the flow of fuel through said channeldependent upon the positioning of said valve member; a control member(16) pivotally mounted on said regulator frame, said control memberbeing in contact with said valve member to thereby determine theposition of said valve member; and temperature response means directlyattached to said regulator frame and engaging said control member forpivotally positioning said control in response to the temperature withinsaid combustion chamber; whereby the position of said thermostaticcontrol valve is only influenced by the positioning of said controlmember and the temperature of said temperature response means and issubstantially independent of temperature related dimensional changes inother components of said heating device.
 2. A valve according to claim1, wherein the engagement between said temperature response means andsaid pivotally mounted control element is such that increasing thetemperature of said heating device causes said control element to pivotin a first angular direction to lessen the flow of fuel through saidchannel, and further comprising biasing means (39) for biasing saidcontrol element in a second angular direction opposite to said firstangular direction.
 3. A valve according to claim 2, wherein saidregulator frame includes an integrally formed valve seat for cooperatingwith said valve member and an integrally formed attachment member (41)for mounting said temperature response means on said regulator frame. 4.A valve according to claim 3, wherein said temperature response meanscomprises a bimetallic element.
 5. A valve according to claim 1 whereinsaid material of said regulator frame is a metal.
 6. A gas poweredheating device having a fuel supply chamber, a combustion chamber and athermostatic gas flow control valve, said control valve comprising:aregulator frame disposed between said fuel supply chamber and saidcombustion chamber and being integrally constructed of a high qualitymaterial, which will not alter its shape under the influences oftemperature and mechanical forces encountered during the operation ofthe gas powered heating device, and having a fuel supply channel formedtherethrough; a movable valve member disposed within said channel forcontrolling the flow of fuel through said channel dependent upon thepositioning of said valve member within said channel; a control memberdirectly and pivotally mounted on said regulator frame, said controlmember being in contact with said valve member to thereby determine theposition of said valve member within said channel; and temperatureresponse means directly attached to said regulator frame, saidtemperature response means engaging said control member to pivotallydisplace said control member in response to the temperature of saidheating device within said combustion chamber.
 7. A heating device as inclaim 6, wherein said control valve is directly attached to a firstmember forming said fuel supply chamber and wherein said combustionchamber is enclosed within a second member attached to said firstmember.
 8. A heating device as in claim 7, further comprising a flangemember (9) for structurally interconnecting said first and secondmembers.
 9. A heating device as in claim 8, wherein said heating deviceis a hair curling iron, said first member is a handle thereof and saidsecond member is a winding body thereof.
 10. A valve according to claim6 wherein said material of said regulator frame is a metal.